Cheistophee c



(No Model.)

l c. o; WRIGHT.

` THILL oUPLING.

l Patented Apr. 7, 1385;`

v UNITED STATS PATENT OFFICE.

cHRIsTorHRR o. WRIGHT, or RLRToN, MARYLAND.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 315,455, dated April '7, 1885. y

Appncanm sled November r1, 1884. (No model.)

.To all whom t may concern:

'Be it known that I, GHRTsTorHER C.

WRIGHT, a citizen of the United States, resid- Improvement in {Phill-Couplings, of which the following is a specification, reference be ing had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to thill-couplings; and zo it has for its object to provide a simple, inexpensive, convenient, and efficient attachment for the same, which will serve as an fantirattler, by means of which the rubber cushion may be adjusted or held in position against the end of the thill-iron at any desired pressure, so as to compensate for wear on the cushion, and at the same time may be arranged to hold the shafts up without the use of supports and the like.

With these ends in view the said invention consists in certain details of construction and combination of parts, as hereinafter set forth, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective viewv showing my improved at tachment applied to the well known form of thill-coupling, the shafts being thrown back and supported solely in that position by the pressure derived from the rubber cushion. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a side elevation with the shafts thrown down into the position assumed when in use. Fig. et is a detached perspective view of my improved attachment, which may be Fig. 5 is a view of a modification.

Like letters are used to indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

Referring to the drawings, A designates the axle; B, the clip; C, the draw-irons; and D the thill-iron, connected by the usual bolt-andnut connect-ion to the draw-irons. To the relative arrangement or construction of these parts I lay no claim, as they are at present in general use, and I illustrate them merely for the purpose of bringing out my improvement to the best advantage, and in order that those skilled in the art may fully comprehend the nature of the present invention. 5o E designates the baseplate, arranged transused or applied to all classes of couplings.`

versely across the axle and provided wit threaded openings to receive the threaded ends of the clip, which threaded ends are pro-` vided with nuts to bind thebase-plate in po-` l y sition against'the under side of the axle.` This 5 5 base-plate E extends forward beyond the axle,

as at F, and is recessed or out away on its upper face to provide a seat, G, for the cushion,- plate H, the latter having vertical walls or` anges I J, extending up from the front and rear ends of the same. The rear wall or llange,J, is higher than the other, so as Sto fit between the draw-irons C inrear of the thill-iron, and between the twoywalls I J is placed the cushion K, preferably of rubber,

which cushion has its upper face concaved to neatly fit around thecylindrical eye on the end of the thill-iron. From the front end of the cushion-plate H depends a guide-lug, L, which works vertically in a recess, M, cut out 7o of the front end of the extension F, so as to guide the vertical movement of the cushion# plate and cause the pressure of the cushion to be distributed to all parts of the eye on the thill-iron. j N designates a screw, having its upper end swiveled or otherwise secured permanently in the cushion-plate so as to allow the turning. thereof without revolving the plate, said` screw extending downward through a threaded opening of the extension F, and having its lower end formed with a thumb-knob, by` means of which thescrew is capable of working through the said extension and elevating the cushion-plate, for the purpose hereinafter explained.

ily understood from the foregoing description, Ioo

It will be observed. `that the width of the taken in connection with the annexed drawings. Should the rubber cushion become Worn, this Wear can be compensated for by the turning of the screw until the proper adjustment is effected to obviate rattling of the parts. Moreover, when it is desired to support the shafts in the elevated position, as shown in Fig. l, the screw is operated to press the cushion against the eye on the end of the thill-iron, and this screw-pressure is so powerful that it requires no other support for the shafts to retain them in that position.

It Will be observed that my improvement embraces only the base plate with the connections shown in Fig. 4, and does not include the thill with its attachments. For that reason it will be readily seen that I can apply my attachment to the ordinary form of thillcoupling by merely detaching the old form of base-plate for connecting the ends of the clip and fitting my improvement in position, as shown. `Thus I am enabled to repair old thill` .couplings and apply my improvement without detaching the old coupling from the axle, and this I claim as a special feature of the present invention. I can also utilize old rubber cushions Which have been thrown away as Worthless for further use in old anti-rattlers, and

apply them for a good long service in conneciion with my attachment.V It does not matter how thin the rubber cushion is, since the plate can be adjusted farther up to compensate for the Wear on the cushion.

My invention is simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, convenient to adjust, efficient in operation, and of great utility for the purposes intended.

As shown in Fig. 5, I may dispense With the use of the guide-lug L and yet effect the desired end; but for all practical purposes I prefer to use the arrangement shown in the other figures of the drawings, though I do not Wish to be confined strictly to any precise construction.

Having described my invention, I claim- The herein-described attach ment to thillcouplings, comprising the base-plate E, recessed at its forward end to provide a seat, G, the cushionplate H, received in the latter and provided With vertical anges I J, the rear ilange, J, being higher than the other, a guidelug, L, Working vertically through a recess, M, of the base-plate, and a screw, N, connected to the cushion-plate, as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

CHRISTOPHER C. WRIGHT.

Vitnesses:

JOHN M. DUNBAR, GEORGE A. BROWN. 

